Saturday, July 2, 2011

Brown Sugar- Cinnamon Peach Pie

I am loving all the time I have had to bake this summer. Now I'm sure I won't be loving my waistline after while but I love being in the kitchen. I received the July issue of Southern Living recently and on the front cover was a beautiful peach pie. As soon as I saw it I was dying to make it. Luckily peaches were on sale recently so I didn't have to wait to make this. We had an impromptu family dinner last night so luckily I could take this and not have to eat the whole thing myself! This pie was devoured. It is so delicious and I can't wait to make it again




I think this pie came out wonderful but unfortunately I forgot to take a picture at home and had to do so with my phone.

Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Peach Pie

1 1/3 cups cold butter
4 1/4 cups AP flour, divided
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup ice-cold water
8 large fresh, firm, ripe peaches (about 4lbs.)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar


1. Cut 1 1/3 cups butter into small cubes, and chill 15 minutes. Stir together 4 cups flour and 1 1/2 tsp. salt. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture resembles small peas. Gradually stir in 1/2 cup ice water with a fork, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened and dough begins to form a ball and leaves sides of bowl, adding more ice water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, if necessary. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap; press and shape dough into 2 flat disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes to 24 hours.


2. Preheat oven to 425. Place 1 dough disk on a lightly floured surface; sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Roll dough to about 1/2-inch thickness. Starting at 1 edge of dough, wrap dough around a rolling pin. Place rolling pin over a 9-inch pie plate, and unroll dough over pie plate. Press dough into pie plate.


3. Roll remaining dough disk to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.


4. Peel peaches, and cut into 1/2-inch slices; cut slices in half. Stir together brown sugar, next 3 ingredients, and remaining 1/4 cup flour in a bowl; add peaches, stirring to coat. Immediately spoon peach mixture into pie crust in pie plate and dot with 1 1/2 Tbsp. butter. (Do not make mixture ahead or it will become too juicy).


5. Carefully place remaining pie crust over filling; press edges of crusts together to seal. Cut off excess crust, and reserve. Crimp edges of pie. If desired roll excess dough to 1/4 inch thickness . Cut into 3-inch leaves using a knife. Brush top of pie with beaten egg; top with leaves. Brush leaves with egg; sprinkle with 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar. Cut 4 to 5 slits in top of pie for steam to escape.


6. Freeze pie 15 minutes. Meanwhile heat a jelly-roll pan in oven 10 minutes. Place pie on hot jelly-roll pan.

7. Bake at 425 on lower oven rack 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375, bake 40 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning, and bake 25 more minutes or until juices are thick and bubbly. Transfer to a wire rack; cool 2 hours before serving.

Pioneer Woman Pancakes

My sister in law gave me the Pioneer Woman's cookbook for my birthday a few weeks ago. I have been so excited to break it open and get cooking. I started with these pancakes because I wanted to freeze some so I could have them during them during the school year. These were just as easy as any other pancakes and they came out perfectly. Light and fluffly and delicious! To go with my pancakes I made a cinnamon syrup since I don't really care for regular maple syrup. The syrup made them even better than they already were!


Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes
Source: The Pioneer Woman

1 cup sour cream
7 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Butter

1. Place an iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat.
2. Place the sour cream in a medium bowl. Dump in the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
3. Stir together very gently. Stop before being totally combined, it gives the pancakes an interesting texture.
4. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl.
5. Add the vanilla and stir to combine.
6. Pour the egg mixture into the sour cream/flour mixture
7. Stir together gently. Don't worry about the mixture being totally combined.
8. Melt a tablespoon of butter on the skillet. Pour the batter onto the skillet 1/4 cup at a time.
9. Cook for 1-11/2 minutes, then flip the pancake over. Cook for another 45 seconds and remove to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Cinnamon Syrup
Source: See Jane in the Kitchen
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium heat stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in evaporated milk.


Sunday, June 26, 2011

Strawberry Crumb Bars

Yet again another strawberry recipe! I just can't resist their deliciousness this summer.
These little bars are absolutely wonderful. I had to pull myself away from the pan when they were ready to eat.




Strawberry Crumb Bars
Source: Smells Like home
1½ cups sugar, divided
1 tsp baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
Zest of 1 lemon
2 sticks (½ lb) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg
4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
4 tsp cornstarch
Juice of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Grease a 13×9 inch pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar, the baking powder and flour. Mix in the salt and the lemon zest, and stir together with a fork. Cut in the butter and egg with a pastry blender (or two knives if you don’t have one) until the largest chunks are about pea-sized. The mixture should be crumbly without much loose flour. Spread about half of the dough mixture in an even layer over the bottom of the prepared pan and press down firmly to form the bottom crust.

In another bowl, stir together the remaining sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the strawberries with a rubber spatula until combined. Spread the berry mixture evenly over the bottom crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the berries. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is slightly golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Strawberry Pie

I love strawberries! I have a few more recipes with strawberries to add on here! My friend recently made this pie and it was just delicious. I asked for the recipe and made this for Father's day. It is really easy and the pie was really popular at our Father's day get together.



The one change I made to this pie was to not use the top pie crust and instead do a crumble topping.


Strawberry Pie
Source: My friend Liz


Make a double-crusted pie crust (or buy it)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees

8 cups fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tb. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tb. of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 tb. heavy cream (i just use water)

Roll dough over pie dish, cut edges and allow to chill for 30 min.

Place strawberries in a large bowl; with your hands, crush about 1/2 cup of berries (i don't do this step b/c the juice runs over). Add the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice; stir to combine. Spoon mixture into chilled pie shell, mounding berries slightly to the center. Dot with butter; place other dough on top of berries. (don't forget to poke holes through if you're doing a full crusted pie.)


In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cream. Lightly brush rim of chilled pie shell with egg wash and the top crust layer. Freeze or refrigerate pie for 30 min. (I skip this step too, haha, and it still turns out ok).

Place pie in oven and bake until crust begins to turn golden, about 20 min. Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees, and continue backing, rotating sheet halfway through, until the crust is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling and thickened, 40-50 min. Allow to cool

Saturday, June 11, 2011

BBQ Chicken Kabobs

Summer gives me more time to be in the kitchen and it makes me so excited to try my ever growning list of recipes.
We had these kabobs for dinner the other night and they were delicious. I was also able to conquer a new kitchen feat with this meal! I had never bought a fresh pineapple before so instead of using can or store prepared pineapple I cut the whole thing up myself and it is delicious!! I think it's all I can buy from now on, it was so simple and so much better than out of a can.

Sweet BBQ Chicken Kabobs Recipe:
Source: Hoosier Homemade
Ingredients:
1-2 pounds chicken, boneless skinless, cut into chunks
1 whole fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
1 each red, yellow and green peppers {you can use orange too if you like}
1 cup BBQ sauce {we used Sweet Baby Rays}
6 tablespoons orange juice concentrate, thawed
Directions:

1.Soak wooden skewers in water about 15-20 minutes.
2.Thread chicken, peppers and pineapple onto skewers.
3.Mix barbecue sauce and orange juice concentrate in a small bowl and set aside.
4.Heat the grill to medium-high.
5.Brush half of the sauce onto the skewers.
6.Grill 8-10 minutes or until chicken is done, turning occasionally.
7.Brush on remainder of sauce while skewers are cooking.
Servings:

This recipe makes about 18-20 skewers, with a little sauce left over. You can easily cut the recipe in half.

To grill pineapple, cut a 1/2 inch thick slice of fresh pineapple and place on grill. Turning once until the pineapple is slightly brown and there are grill marks on the pineapple

Strawberries and Cream Pie



It's been awhile huh? I am so excited to finally have time to create in my kitchen. I have a whole list of recipes to try this summer. I made this pie for mother's day. It was a hit! I love how pretty it is and while it may look like it took some time to make it really took no time at all!


Chocolate-Drizzled Strawberries and Cream Pie
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 quart fresh strawberries

1 8-oz. package cream cheese at room temperature (light is fine)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 9″ graham cracker crust (store-bought or homemade)
1-2 ounces chocolate

In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. In a separate large bowl, beat the whipping cream and powdered sugar until medium peaks form. Add about 1 c. of the whipping cream mixture to the cream cheese mixture. Beat until smooth and well-combined. Add the remaining whipping cream mixture and mix until just combined. Spread in the graham cracker crust and refrigerate for a few minutes while you prepare the strawberries.

Wash the strawberries and cut off the stems. Blot dry with a paper towel and then gently press, cut side down, into the whipped cream mixture. Set aside.

If using a chocolate bar, break it into equal pieces and place in a small Ziploc bag. Microwave for 1-1 1/2 minutes, stopping the microwave every 20 seconds to mash the bag. You want the chocolate to be melted but not hot at all. When the chocolate is melted, snip a corner off the bag and drizzle it over the strawberries. Refrigerate for at least three hours before serving. Serves 8.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Here is another breakfast recipe for you! I recently found the blog Comfy in the Kitchen and she has some great recipes. On Fridays she has a Feasting in Fellowship link up. As I searched around one Friday I found this recipe. I thought it would meet my breakfast criteria perfectly! And it did, it was super simple, I will be able to grab it and go in the mornings and it tastes wonderful. It is really moist and has a great texture.
I hope you enjoy!

Blueberry Coffee Cake
Source:The Unworking Mom
1 cup and 1 teaspoon sugar

½ cup brown sugar

8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons margarine, softened
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups blueberries


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a bunt pan or 9x13 baking pan w/spray oil.

In a large bowl, beat 1 cup sugar, brown sugar, cream cheese and margarine until creamy.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt.

Add to cream cheese mixture.

Fold in blueberries.

Pour the batter into pan.

Topping: Combine left over sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the batter.

Cook 1 hour in bundt pan or 30-35 minutes in a 9 x 13 pan

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Glazed Cinnamon Scones


I recently found this delicious recipe and when I saw the pictures I knew I had to make it. I made these to have for my breakfast throughout the week. It doesn't take much to make these. As soon as I took the first bite I was hooked. They are absolutely delicious!! I hope you enjoy them as much as I will this week!

Glazed Cinnamon Scones
Source: Money Saving Mom

Scone Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg, separated
3 Tablespoons honey
1/3 cup buttermilk (or 1/3 cup milk mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice)

Crumb Topping (can be adjusted to your liking):
1-2 Tablespoons turbinado (or sugar)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze Ingredients (can be adjusted to your liking):
1 cup powdered sugar
1-3 teaspoons milk (enough to make a glaze)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.

Separate the egg white and yolk. Set the egg white aside.

In a separate bowl, mix egg yolk, honey and buttermilk (or milk/lemon juice mixture). Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Form dough into a ball on a floured surface. Roll or pat out to half an inch in thickness and eight inches in diameter. Cut into eight equally-sized pieces.

Transfer to a greased baking sheet. Whisk the egg white until froth forms and brush over the tops of scones. Mix turbinado and cinnamon together and sprinkle over egg-white-topped scones.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Mix together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until glaze forms. Drizzle over scones after they bake.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

No-Bake Turtle Pumpkin Pie


This is a dessert that I made for Thanksgiving. I know I'm a little behind!! My mom asked me to make something sugar free for my dad to have on Thanksgiving. When I saw this recipe I knew it was exactly what I wanted to make. My dad loves turtles so i thought this would be perfect.
It was easy to put together and I think it looks delicious! I received many compliments on the look and taste of this dessert!

No-Bake Turtle Pumpkin Pie
Source: Sing For Your Supper

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar free caramel ice cream topping, divided
1 graham cracker pie crust
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pecan pieces, divided
1 cup cold 1% milk
2 packages (4-serving size) vanilla sugar-free, fat-free instant pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tub (8 ounce) light whipped topping, thawed, divided

Pour 1/4 cup caramel topping into crust; sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans.
Beat milk, pudding mixes, pumpkin, and spices with whisk until blended. Gently fold in 1 1/2 cup whipped topping. Spread into crust.
Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Top with remaining whipped topping and 2 tablespoons pecans. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons caramel topping.

Nutritional analysis: (per one slice)
Calories – 165
Fiber – 2.7
Protein – 2
Total fat – 7
Carbohydrate – 23

Pizza Rolls

Happy New Year!!
We had a small party last night and instead of ordering pizza I thought these would be better instead. These were easy and really yummy!

Home Made Pizza Rolls
Source: Tidy Mom

2 cans refrigerated pizza crust
garlic salt
Italian Seasoning
1 cup sliced and chopped pepperoni
1 cup shredded cheese (we used Provolone and Pepper Jack)
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
Pasta Sauce for dipping

Preheat oven to 425
Dust a large cutting board or piece of wax paper with flour and roll out each pizza crust.
Season each crust with garlic salt and Italian seasoning.
Top with cheese and meat
Starting with a short end, roll crust into a tight log
Slice into 1″ sections
Place on lightly greased pan and bake for 10-12 mins.
Serve with pasta Sauce for dipping



Candy Cane Blossoms



I also made these cookies for Christmas treats. I think these cookies look so pretty. I enjoyed making them especially since they were so easy.



Candy cane Blossoms
Source:Hershey

48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Candy Cane Mint Candies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
Red or green sugar crystals, granulated sugar or powdered sugar

1 Heat oven to 350°F. Remove wrappers from candies.
2 Beat butter, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended.
3 Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in red sugar, granulated sugar, powdered sugar or a combination of any of the sugars. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
4 Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cookie is set. Remove from oven; cool 2 to 3 minutes. Press a candy piece into center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies

Chocolate Mint Puddles

For Christmas I made a couple different treats. My husband really likes mint so I made these with him in mind. These were easy to make and this batch made a lot of cookies!!!


Chocolate Mint Puddles
Source: Sing For Your Supper
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 (4.5 ounce) packages chocolate covered thin mints (Andes mints)

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the sugar, butter and water, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove from heat, stir in the chocolate chips until melted and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl, and beat in the eggs, one at a time. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. Roll cookie dough into walnut sized balls and place 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, be careful not to overbake. When cookies come out of the oven, Press one mint wafer into the top of each cookie and let sit for 1 minute. When the mint is softened, swirl with the back of a spoon or toothpick to make a pattern with the green filling of the mint wafer. For smaller cookies, break mints in half.